On Freedom

By: Timothy Snyder

Narrated by: Timothy Snyder

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • A brilliant exploration of freedom—what it is, how it’s been misunderstood, and why it’s our only chance for survival—by the acclaimed Yale historian and author of the #1 New York Times bestseller On Tyranny

“A rigorous and visionary argument . . . Buy or borrow this book, read it, take it to heart.”—The Guardian

Timothy Snyder has been called “the leading interpreter of our dark times.” As a historian, he has given us startling reinterpretations of political collapse and mass killing. As a public intellectual, he has turned that knowledge toward counsel and prediction, working against authoritarianism here and abroad. His book On Tyranny has inspired millions around the world to fight for freedom. Now, in this tour de force of political philosophy, he helps us see exactly what we’re fighting for.

Freedom is the great American commitment, but as Snyder argues, we have lost sight of what it means—and this is leading us into crisis. Too many of us look at freedom as the absence of state power: We think we're free if we can do and say as we please, and protect ourselves from government overreach. But true freedom isn’t so much freedom from as freedom to—the freedom to thrive, to take risks for futures we choose by working together. Freedom is the value that makes all other values possible.

On Freedom takes us on a thrilling intellectual journey. Drawing on the work of philosophers and political dissidents, conversations with contemporary thinkers, and his own experiences coming of age in a time of American exceptionalism, Snyder identifies the practices and attitudes—the habits of mind—that will allow us to design a government in which we and future generations can flourish. We come to appreciate the importance of traditions (championed by the right) but also the role of institutions (the purview of the left). Intimate yet ambitious, this book helps forge a new consensus rooted in a politics of abundance, generosity, and grace.

©2024 Timothy Snyder (P)2024 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

“Stimulating . . . With all his deep absorption in Eastern Europe, Snyder has no illusions about the dilemma of freedom in his own country. Apart from his work as a professor, he teaches prisoners, which gives him a keener appreciation of the unique horrors of American mass incarceration.”—The New York Times

“[A] timely manifesto for our fearful age . . . Snyder knows how precious and fragile freedom is because he has studied and, in Ukraine, even seen what happens to people when brutes take it away. . . . His knowledge of tyranny is invaluable in analyzing freedom. But Snyder’s book goes well beyond history. . . . [which] makes On Freedom intellectually rich, yet personal.”—Financial Times

“[Snyder’s] deep political and philosophical examination of . . . how to create and sustain freedom provides a hopeful view for the future.”—Los Angeles Times

brilliant, removes the veils of inevitability

loved, painful and shocking but grounding in the process. highly recommend for anyone seeking to understand how we got where we are today and how we can seize our future for a positive freedom for all.

Challenging

Timothy Snyder is an excellent writer. There were many pithy one-liners that will make excellent quotes. I'll have to get the Kindle edition for the second listening. This book should be taken very seriously. Will people beg off saying that this level of freedom is too difficult to attain? The oligarch future is not something people will want, but will they do anything? Actually, they will be forced to do something. The books of the New Message from God will help.

Need to fight for our freedoms and democracy!

Timothy Snyder does it again but let’s us in his personal journey to his thinking on the important and now delicate subject of our freedom and democracy. He highlights the rights the all human beings need to have true freedom. America started as a wonderful idea and it evolved to extend that freedom to African American and women but it still needs to continue to evolve to include all. I also like the way he includes climate change and our responsibility to preserve the planet for future generational freedom. Loved it!

a must read for every liberal

the strongest repudiation of negative freedom (freedom from) and it's consequences I have read. Snyder focuses the reader towards the promise of positive freedom (freedom to) and how it is a prerequisite for a just society

A book for Now

Important book for our time. It’s important to hear from those who possess a clarity that some of us lack - I certainly lack it.

Freedom to is a way to reinvent the paradigm

Very well thought out premise that made me rethink many prior ideas. Worth reading a few times to get all the nuance. Well worth the time to dedicate and feel like a great deal was learned. And so that you can follow a gameplay that values the many over the few or the one. Solidarity over loneliness. Values over apathy or nihilism. Human rights over free market pipedreams and inequity so deep it’ll take centuries to pull it out. Health care. Basic income. Voting for every citizen. I want to live with freedom to live my values, with government taking taxes from billionaires to lift us all up. And lastly an education system that’s quality and obsessed with truth. So we can all have the freedom to thrive.

A life enhancing book

I can't adequately describe my reaction to this book because I'll be thinking about it a long time. Prof. Snyder describes a way to conceptually understand freedom that avoids the cliches and sermonizing, an articulation of his life's work. It's not a long book, but, for me, it was a challenging book. There are passages I need to revisit, ideas to absorb and question. My one problem was that he read the last chapter too quickly. That's okay. I can buy the book, read at my own pace, put the highlighter to work. I'll be buying several copies as Holiday gifts, the more people who read this the brighter our world will become. It's that powerful.

T. Snyder. Current thought leader on being an American and how to be more free now with conscious personal choices

This book is the absolute best follow up to “On Tyranny “. As a 1968 graduate of an elite liberal arts university, this book is simply the most impactful collection of forgotten ideas and principles I used to have that I now realize I let wane. I am humbled by the simple truths the author reminds us to bring back to my idealistic days right out of college. The book evoked shame for my lapses and tears for the hope it reinstalled in me to share with my family, friends and groups in which I participate. It gives me new energy to share more and hold back less.

Definitoons

OK, the author is intelligent and gifted. He also sees the world through a distinctly upper middle class and honestly privileged background. He’s provided food for thought. I don’t agree with some of his evidence but in general, I agree with many of his recommendations. Basically this is one of those books that challenges my personal opinions and beliefs. It’s good to read one of those from time to time.

Freedom FROM versus freedom TO

I just finished reading A. Navalny’s Patriot, published after T. Snyder’s On Freedom.
Listening to the later seemed like philosophical acknowledgment of the real life experience of Mr Navalny. Both insist there is no freedom without living in truth; only Navalny was murdered for his belief.
T. Snyder’s warning about signs of gradual loss of freedom in the US is necessary reading for most of us - I know, I will spread copies to as many as I can.